Newfoundland & Labrador February 18 Optimism among Newfoundland & Labrador's small businesses improved again in February. Its Business Barometer bounced almost points to reach 6.. The other indicators have also seen small improvements. Full-time short-term staffing intentions, while still weak, have improved somewhat currently 6 per cent of employers foresee cutting numbers while per cent expect to hire additional staff. About 41 per cent of owners say their firms are in good state while per cent see their firms in poor state. and tax/regulatory costs are the most important constraints on business growth. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 Newfoundland & Lab NL data presented as 4-mth moving averages Resp= 46 6. -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 4 8 6 7 41 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 1 1 8 16 18 47 26 7 26 46 71 68 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
Prince Edward Island February 18 Small businesses in Prince Edward Island have seen a boost of optimism in February. The PEI Business Barometer soared by more than points and reached 6. just above the national average. Short-term hiring intentions are also improving with per cent of employers planning on hiring, while only per cent plan on laying off. About per cent of business owners say their firms are in good state while per cent say their firms are in a poor state. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 Prince Edward Is. PEI data presented as 4-mth moving averages Resp= 6. -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 9 8 7 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 4 7 7 18 24 12 16 26 1 47 7 72 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
Nova Scotia February 18 Optimism among Nova Scotia's small business owners improved again in February. Its Business Barometer of 72. reached the highest level registered by the index and a solid points above the national average. The other indicators have improved as well. Short-term employment plans gain momentum, with per cent of entrepreneurs looking to hire versus 6 per cent planning to decrease full-time employment. About per cent of business owners are reporting their firms are in good shape while only per cent say their firms are in bad shape. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 Nova Scotia NS data presented as -mth moving averages Resp= 7 72. -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 6 8 7 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 2 6 16 22 9 44 41 41 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
New Brunswick February 18 Optimism among New Brunswick small businesses has improved somewhat in February. The Business Barometer gained 2 points to reach 9.1. Short-term hiring plans, however, remain neutral as almost equal shares of entrepreneurs are looking to hire ( per cent) as to lay off full-time staff ( per cent). About 2 per cent of respondents are reporting that their firms are in good shape, while only 8 per cent say their firms are in poor shape. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 New Brunswick NB data presented as -mth moving averages Resp= 66 9.1 -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 8 7 2 8 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 4 9 9 24 6 9 28 1 1 7 46 7 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
Quebec February 18 Optimism improved again among Quebec's small businesses in February. The Business Barometer reached 7.9 a post-recession high. Quebec is again leading the provinces in business confidence. Short-term hiring plans are strong with about one-third (1 per cent) of owners looking to add and only 7 per cent looking to cut back on full-time staffing. Two-thirds of business owners indicate that their firms are in good shape the strongest reading for this indicator across. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 Quebec QC data presented as 2-mth moving averages Resp= 186 7.9 -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 1 8 7 66 7 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 4 9 16 26 9 22 2 6 48 8 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
Ontario February 18 Optimism among Ontario's small businesses remained essentially unchanged in February. Its Business Barometer (9.) moved upwards by only. points, and is still trailing the national average. Short-term employment plans are almost in neutral with per cent of employers planning cutbacks to full-time staff while 16 per cent expecting to add. The general state of business is stable with 7 per cent of respondents saying their firms are in good shape, while per cent reporting that their businesses are in bad shape. Resp= 27 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 Ontario 9. -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 8 7 16 7 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 28 4 1 9 29 8 18 22 9 42 7 8 6 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
Manitoba February 18 Manitoba's small businesses showed a modest improvement in optimism this month. Its Business Barometer improved 1.6 points in February and reached 6.2. However, short-term hiring plans have not seen any improvements. Currently, equal shares of entrepreneurs ( per cent) are looking to hire as to lay off. About 48 per cent of business owners say their businesses are in good shape, while per cent report that their firms are in poor shape consistent with the previous month. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 Manitoba MB data presented as 4-mth moving averages Resp= 1 6.2 -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 8 7 48 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 9 7 18 1 1 27 29 29 7 8 67 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
Saskatchewan February 18 Saskatchewan's small businesses gained in optimism this month. Its Business Barometer of 6.8, while still weak nationally, improved.2 points in February. Employment plans are still in negative territory with only 8 per cent of owners looking to hire and 18 per cent planning to reduce staffing in the next -4 months. The general state of business improved somewhat with 1 per cent of respondents saying their businesses are in good shape, versus per cent who see their firms in bad shape. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 Saskatchewan SK data presented as -mth moving averages Resp= 1 6.8 -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 18 8 8 7 1 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 8 11 6 12 24 29 49 27 22 18 6 4 49 2 69 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
Alberta February 18 Alberta small businesses had a rough February and their optimism suffered. Its Business Barometer lost points and reached 6. the lowest in. Full-time staffing intentions edged slightly weaker; about per cent of respondents are looking to cut back on staffing while 11 per cent are looking to hire. Only about one-quarter of business owners see their operations in good shape while per cent see their firms in bad shape. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 Alberta AB data presented as 2-mth moving averages Resp= 6 6. -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 4 11 8 7 24 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 4 8 11 27 26 27 1 24 8 49 7 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4
British Columbia February 18 Optimism among British Columbia's small business owners improved in February. Its Business Barometer gained almost points and reached 69. the third highest level in the country, after Quebec and Nova Scotia. Short-term employment plans remained consistent with previous months and among the strongest in the country with 27 per cent of owners planning to add versus 9 per cent expecting to cut back full-time staff. Similarly to January, about one-in-two business owners say their firms are in good shape while only 9 per cent see their firms in poor shape. 1. Business Barometer (-) 8 8 7 7 6 4 British Columbia BC data presented as -mth moving averages Resp= 69. -. Newfoundland & Lab 6. 4.7 Prince Edward Is. 6. 12.6 Nova Scotia 72. 8.1 New Brunswick 9.1 2.2 Ontario 9.. Saskatchewan 6.8.2 Alberta 6. -.1 British Columbia 69. 2.8 8 7 27 4 9 9 4. Limitations on sales or production growth*. Major cost constraints* 27 4 9 44 24 9 8 49 4 4 61 Ted Mallett, vice-president & chief economist, 416 222-822 Andreea Bourgeois, senior analyst, 6 8-26 Simon Gaudreault, director, economic affairs, Quebec, 861-4